Are two completly different and sometimes overlaping hobbies.
I used to buy books like I used to buy PlayStation 2 games. Every saturday I used to buy 2 or 3 games, it reached a point where I had over 300 games but played the same 10 at most.
Like wise with books, I used to buy whatever grabbed my attention and I have a library full of books I have zero intention to read.
When I got my first Kindle back in 2011, the physical book lost its shine for me, it was now about reading the book and I became more serious about what books to buy. Not buying anything that seemed even a little bit interesting, I had to start to think about what I was really going to enjoy.
For me buying books and reading them are two different things.
This is not a problem for me because if I allow myself to buy books on any regular basis, I’ll have a million books and likely not read them all. Basically, this would be a problem for me, but I recognize it enough to not let it happen.
For me, I put a lot of things on my wish list/to read eventually list and it just gross and gross because I can only read so fast.
I do think browsing for books is a completely different hobby from reading books, whether you’re bookmarking them or buying them. It’s similar to other hobbies. I live cross stitch and sometimes spend a ton of time browsing patterns, bookmarking the ones I like, making plans in my head to make these things, yet I haven’t picked up a needle in a month or more.
I think we can consider this a side effect of having everything at our fingertips. Everything is available to us and it’s easy to dream that there’s enough time in the world to read all the things and make all the things, but there’s not.
i certainly intend to read all my books, but there’s no physical way i can. i want different books at different times. i enjoy rediscovering books i’d forgotten i bought. it’s a present from past me to present me. and probably future me.
I recently had a conversation with a friend when we were visiting a bookstore and I mentioned that I wasn’t going to buy any books that day since I had four on my shelf that I needed to read first. She then informed me that she has over 50 unread books and walked out of the store that day with three more.
I recently had a conversation with a friend when we were visiting a bookstore and I mentioned that I wasn’t going to buy any books that day since I had four on my shelf that I needed to read first. She then informed me that she has over 50 unread books and walked out of the store that day with three more.
This is why I almost solely buy secondhand books from thrift stores, library sales, used bookstores, etc. I can satisfy my book-buying addiction for only a dollar or two.
Twice a year the library sale has Ten Cent Day and I have to bring an extra box for it all.
This is why I almost solely buy secondhand books from thrift stores, library sales, used bookstores, etc. I can satisfy my book-buying addiction for only a dollar or two.
Twice a year the library sale has Ten Cent Day and I have to bring an extra box for it all.
Ten Cent Day??? Sounds like heaven, wish we had it here in Europe too.
Are two completly different and sometimes overlaping hobbies.
I wouldn’t say they’re “sometimes overlapping” so much as that it depends on the person. For me, personally, buying books and reading books are very much the same hobby. While I have a decent sized TBR at home, they are all books I bought specifically because I plan to read them and have fit them into a “gonna read this within the next 1-3 years” plan. Which might sound like a broad timeframe for some, but I’ve already planned out 90% of my 2024 reads and have a good idea of what will be leftover for 2025. So yeah, the buying and the reading very much go hand in hand for me. I’m very much a “completionist”, so buying books I have no intention to read would annoy me beyond belief, lol.
I know I’m in a bad place, reading-wise, if I’m buying books much faster than I can read them. When I’m in a good place, I’m calm and buying books as I finish them. When I’m in a bad place, I’m mentally all over the place and am trying to buy books almost as a substitute for reading them. They’re aspirational purchases.
I do the same thing for art supplies or any gear I need for my hobbies. Whenever I notice I’ve bought more things than I can reasonably use or more than I need right now, I’m compensating for something that’s lacking psychologically/emotionally.
For me, they’re only two separate hobbies when I myself am somehow split.
I know I’m in a bad place, reading-wise, if I’m buying books much faster than I can read them. When I’m in a good place, I’m calm and buying books as I finish them. When I’m in a bad place, I’m mentally all over the place and am trying to buy books almost as a substitute for reading them. They’re aspirational purchases.
I do the same thing for art supplies or any gear I need for my hobbies. Whenever I notice I’ve bought more things than I can reasonably use or more than I need right now, I’m compensating for something that’s lacking psychologically/emotionally.
For me, they’re only two separate hobbies when I myself am somehow split.
I have, on occasion, gone to buy an ebook on kindle only to find I already own it. I love kindle book sales, I have quite a few wishlists just for the kindle ebooks I know I want to buy from authors I like.
I have, on occasion, gone to buy an ebook on kindle only to find I already own it. I love kindle book sales, I have quite a few wishlists just for the kindle ebooks I know I want to buy from authors I like.
I bought a lot of books during my 20s but read quite less. I didn’t have much money to buy a paperback version. Now I have shifted back to physical books and there is no more rush to complete the book within a certain time span! I enjoy it even more! But yes I still have old physical books that I haven’t read a single page!
I bought a lot of books during my 20s but read quite less. I didn’t have much money to buy a paperback version. Now I have shifted back to physical books and there is no more rush to complete the book within a certain time span! I enjoy it even more! But yes I still have old physical books that I haven’t read a single page!